Prithvi Raj Chauhan

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraj Chauhan was born at Ajaymeru (Ajmer) in 1166 A. D. His father was Someshwar Chauhan and mother Karpuri Devi, a Kalachuri (Chedi) princess, daughter of Achalaraja of Tripuri. Muhammad Ghori attacked India multiple times. First time he was routed in present day Gujarat by Rajputs. Mularaja-II was not even a teen yet and his mother organized the defences of Pattan. Battle was fought at Kayadara near Mount Abu, in 1178 A. D. and Ghori was resoundingly defeated. After this defeat he never entered India through Gujarat.

In first battle of Taraori in 1191 Prithviraj Chauhan’s cavalry charged and routed the Ghurid cavalry and captured Ghori.. It is Told that Prithviraj Chauhan Defeted Ghori 17 times and Ghori begged for his life and Prithviraj allowed him to go despite his generals asking him not to do so. Prithviraj Chauhan lived at Taragarh fort which was also known as Ajaymeru after which the town of Ajmer got its name. Following year Ghori came again. Prithviraj advanced with his army and sent a letter to Ghori. In this letter Ghori was asked to return as he had been defeated the previous year and was spared his life.

Ghori replied that he was in India on the orders of his brother, Ghiasuddin, and that he could only retreat after he got a word from his brother. This letter was sent in the evening and after sending the letter Ghori moved his camp back a few kilometers to feign retreat. On receiving this letter and seeing Muhammad move his camp back Prithviraj assumed that Ghori was not interested in fighting. Ghori also knew that rajputs did not fight in the night and only started fighting after sun had come up. (This is an ancient Kshatriya practice e. Mahabharata was also fought mostly in day time). Ghori treacherously attacked in the early morning hours when Prithviraj and his army were sleeping and was able to win this war The founder of the Gahadwala line was Govindchandra Gahadwala. He was an astute ruler and ruled from Kannauj. Most of North India, including the university town of Nalanda was a part of his kingdom. He stoutly defended his kingdom from further Muslims incursions. He instituted a tax for this purpose which was called Turushka Danda (i. e. tax to fight the Turushkas or Turks).

His grandson was Jaichandra Gahadwala (Rathod) who played a tragic role in Indian History. The Story of Prithviraj Chouhan and Mahmud Ghori In Jaichand’s days, a rival Rajput clan had established itself in Delhi (Pithoragarh). The ruler there was Prithviraj Chouhan. Pritiviraj was a romantic, chivalrous and an extremely fearless person. After ceaseless military campaigns, Pritiviraj extended his original kingdom of Sambhar (Shakambara) to Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Eastern Punjab. He ruled from his twin capitals at Delhi and Ajmer.

His fast rise caught the envy of the then powerful ruler Jaichandra Gahadwala and there was a lot of ill-feeling between the two. Prithiviraj’s Love for Sanyogita – Jaichandra’s Daughter The story of Prithviraj’s bold exploits spread far and wide in the country and he was the center of much discussion in the circle of the nobility. Sanyogita, the daughter of Jaichandra Gahadwala fell secretly in love with Prithiviraj and she started a secret poetic correspondence with him. Her father the haughty Jaichandra got wind of this and he decided to teach his daughter and her upstart lover a lesson.

So he arranged a Swayamwara (a ceremony where a bride can select her husband from the assembled princes. She had the right to garland any prince and she became his queen. This is an ancient Hindu custom among Royalty). Jaichandra invited all the big and small princes of the country to Kannauj for the royal Swayamwara. But he deliberately ignored Prithiviraj. To add insult to injury, he even made a statue of Prithiviraj and kept him as a dwarpala (doorman). The Elopement of Sanyogita with Prithviraj

Prithviraj got to know of this and he confided his plans to his lover. On the said day, Sanyogita walked down the aisle where the royals had assembled and bypassed all of them only to reach the door and garland the statue of Pritiviraj as a doorman. The assemblage was stunned at this brash act of hers. But what stunned them and her father Jaichandra was the next thing that happened. Prithiviraj who was hiding behind the statue, also in the garb of a doorman, whisked Sanyogita away and put her up on his steed to make a fast getaway to his capital at Delhi

Chouhan-Rathore Warfare Leads to Weakening of both Rajput Kingdoms Jaichandra and his army gave earnest chase and in the resultant string of battles between the two kingdoms fought between 1189 and 1190, both of them sufferred heavily. While this drama was being enacted, another ruler also named Mahmud who was from Ghori in Afghanistan had grown powerful and had captured Ghazni and subsequently attacked the Ghaznavid Governor of Punjab and defeated him. The kingdom of Mahmud Ghori now stretched up to the domains of Prithiviraj Chouhan. A clash was inevitable